Against the Darkness
by UberPest
Summary: A/U: Set post-"Bones on a Blue Line"  Bones  and pre-"A Deadly Game"  Castle . A killer strikes at a mystery fiction convention in NYC. Can B&B and K&C team up to solve the murder?
1. Prologue

This was his favorite part of the day.

Long after the last report was written and form signed they were home. He was lying in the dark, listening to her taking her time in the shower before coming to bed. He knew this was part of her nightly ritual—her way of washing away the stress and daily horrors of the job. He heard the water stop and after a few minutes she entered their room wearing nothing but one of his button down shirts.

She slid between the sheets and he pulled her close to his bare chest, inhaling her softly sweet clean scent. More than anything he wanted to hold her in his arms and keep her from facing life's demons. He knew she didn't need him to protect her from the world, but knowing something didn't keep him from wanting it any less.

She pressed her lips against his and whispered a joke that only they understood. His laughter rumbled in his chest as she toyed with the waistband of his boxers and he traced the soft curves of her body under her clothing.

They'd go out again tomorrow and face the anger and hatred in the world, but until then it was just them—alone against the darkness.


	2. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** All characters are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended. This is for entertainment purposes only._

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_December 2008_

A pair of figures walked out of the shadows to the low-rent apartment in the early morning light. Their shoes crunched on the refrozen slush on the sidewalk. The man—older by at least thirty years—blew blue smoke through his nostrils and flicked a cigarette butt to the curb before crushing it out with his heel. The young woman standing next to him leaned against the worn, graffiti-covered brick wall, and rubbed her eyes.

"Dad, why are we doing this again? Why don't they just arrest him?"

"Because if Christa won't press charges, and the cops don't see it, legally he didn't do it."

The woman pressed her lips together in an angry frown. "You got your phone on you?" she asked. Her father nodded an affirmative.

"I'll go get them." he said.

The woman shook her head. "No. It's my turn. Besides, you'll kill him if you go," she said, only slightly joking. "Just keep an eye out for her and call 911 if we're not down in 15 minutes." She unlatched the door to the walk-up and spoke, not looking at her father.

"I wish Jimmy were here."

Her father nodded and responded softly. "Me too, baby."

She stepped into the building.

"Laurie?" he called and she turned back to face him. "Be careful."

She nodded and closed the door behind her.

Laurie stepped down the hall to her sister's apartment, noticing with disgust the discarded liquor bottles and stinking bags of garbage. Frowning, she toed aside the child's toy left in the hall. She listened closely before taking the last few steps to her sister's door. The "5" in the "54" was hanging upside down as it had been for weeks. She took a calming breath before gently knocking. She was about to knock again when it opened, slamming to the end of a short chain safety lock.

Two pairs of nearly identical green eyes met as Laurie's older sister peered through the cracked door. Her bottom lip was split and a dark bruise was spreading across her left cheekbone. "Hey, Laurie." Her voice wavered.

"Christa, can I come in?" Laurie asked.

Christa didn't say anything, but undid the chain and stepped back to allow her sister into the efficiency. Laurie looked around; her eyes adjusting quickly to the dim apartment interior. "Is Matt here?" she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, but he's passed out in bed. If we're quiet we can get out before he wakes up. Mikey's sleeping too." She looked at the playpen set up next to the worn sofa.

Laurie stepped toward the playpen to pick up her nephew as her sister slipped into a warm coat. "Come on. Grab your bag so we can get out of here." She heard a groan and a mattress creak from the bedroom. Looking at her sister as she hefted the baby to her shoulder she added, "Hurry."

Laurie shook her head. "You know what? You take Mikey and I'll get your stuff. Dad's waiting downstairs." Christa started to protest, but Laurie was firm, handing the baby off and turning away. She called back over her shoulder, "Go."

Christa had her hand on the doorknob when her son started to fuss. She attempted to quiet his cries. "Shhh—" Mikey let out a shrill cry. The sisters looked at each other, wide eyed.

Laurie cursed under her breath, then told her sister to get out of the apartment. Laurie turned when she heard Matt's voice.

"What's the matter, Mikey?" he slurred from where he held himself upright in the doorway.

Christa stopped halfway through the door to the hall, too frightened of the big man to move. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as she watched her sister shift and step toward Matt.

Laurie felt something inside her crack and her voice took on an edge when she spoke to Matt.

"Why do you even care?" she spat.

Matt tried to focus his eyes on Laurie. He mumbled a response. "Because I—I _love_ him."

Laurie stepped close to him, looking up when she was nearly toe-to-toe. He was over six feet tall and towered over her petite frame, but her voice was low and serious. "If you loved him, you'd stay sober, you'd get a damn job, and you wouldn't put hands on his mother."

Matt opened his mouth to say something, but Laurie cut him off. Her hands were shaking with anger as she punctuated her statement with a finger in his face. "And if you _ever_ say another word to me I will _fucking_ kill you. Do you understand?"

Matt tried to pull himself into an intimidating posture—something that had always worked on Christa—but stopped when he saw the flash of anger in Laurie's eyes. Even in his intoxicated state he knew she was deadly serious.

"I don't want a story. I don't want excuses. I want a 'yes' or a 'no'. Do you understand?"

Matt slowly nodded.

"Good," Laurie said. She stooped to pick up the threadbare duffel bag near the sofa, and with barely a backward glance the sisters left, leaving Matt alone in the dark apartment.

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**A/N 2:** Part one was short and, as many picked up in the reviews section, intentionally vague. It will work out in the end, I promise. :) Thank you for the kind words in the reviews for the short first chapter.


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